Thorius, also known as minute salamanders,[1]pigmy salamanders, or Mexican pigmy salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are endemic to Mexico and found in southern Veracruz and Puebla to Guerrero and Oaxaca.[2]
Thorius is the most species-rich tropical salamander genus relative to its distribution area (Bolitoglossa and Pseudoeurycea have many more species but also much wider distribution areas). It is not uncommon for two or even three species to occur in the same place. In such cases, species have diverged in terms of body size and dentition, apparently facilitating niche differentiation.[3]
The members of this genus are characterized by a small body — some species are less than 2 cm (0.79 in) in snout–vent length (tail roughly doubles the total body length). Their extreme miniaturization is accompanied by determinate growth and skeletal reduction. Their skeleton also shows unique features, such as ossifications of many elements that remain cartilaginous in other salamanders. Consequently, they are easy to distinguish from other salamanders. In contrast, they tend to be similar in appearance, making it difficult to distinguish species.[3] However, molecular genetic methods have greatly facilitated identification of new species.[1]
^ abHanken, James; Wake, David B. (1998). "Biology of tiny animals: systematics of the minute salamanders (Thorius: Plethodontidae) from Veracruz and Puebla, México, with descriptions of five new species". Copeia. 1998 (2): 312. doi:10.2307/1447427. JSTOR 1447427.
^Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Thorius Cope, 1869". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
^ abRovito, Sean M.; Parra-Olea, Gabriela; Hanken, James; Bonett, Ronald M.; Wake, David B. (2013). "Adaptive radiation in miniature: the minute salamanders of the Mexican highlands (Amphibia: Plethodontidae: Thorius)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 109 (3): 622–643. doi:10.1111/bij.12083.
Thorius, also known as minute salamanders, pigmy salamanders, or Mexican pigmy salamanders, is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They...
Raphael Thorius M.D. (died 1625) was a London physician of Huguenot and Flemish background, known as a poet and humanist. Thorius was the son of Franciscus...
Thorius narisovalis is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico. The species is known from four disjunct subpopulations...
Thorius arboreus, commonly known as the arboreal minute salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Sierra de...
Thorius schmidti, commonly known as Schmidt's pigmy salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only...
Thorius insperatus is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico. The holotype was collected...
Thorius munificus is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from near its type locality near Las...
Thorius narismagnus is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the San Martin Tuxtla volcano, in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas...
Thorius pulmonaris, commonly known as the lower cerro pigmy salamander or Cerro San Felipe salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae...
Thorius infernalis, commonly known as the Atoyac minute salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico where...
Thorius smithi, commonly known as Smith's salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known...
Thorius macdougalli, commonly known as MacDougall's pigmy salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Oaxaca...
Thorius minydemus, commonly known as the La Hoya minute salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and...
Thorius omiltemi is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the area around Omiltemi in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero...
Thorius papaloae, commonly known as the Papalo minute salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and...
Thorius minutissimus is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico. It is known only from one site near Santo Tomás...
Thorius magnipes is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca of Mexico, and only known from near...
Thorius spilogaster, commonly known as the spotted thorius, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known...
Thorius troglodytes, commonly known as Taylor's pigmy salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae that is endemic to Mexico. It...
Thorius grandis, commonly known as the grand minute salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico where...
Thorius lunaris, commonly known as the crescent-nostriled thorius, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Pico de Orizaba...
Thorius boreas, commonly known as the boreal thorius, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico, and only...
reported to grow to a length of 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in), to the diminutive Thorius pennatulus from Mexico which seldom exceeds 20 mm (0.8 in) in length. Salamanders...
Thorius dubitus, commonly known as the Acultzingo pigmy salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico where...
coffee plantations. The young of Thorius pennatulus develop directly in the egg and do not have a larval stage. Thorius pennatulus is listed as "Endangered"...
Thorius aureus, the golden thorius, is a species of salamander in the genus Thorius, the Mexican pigmy salamanders, part of the lungless salamander family...
"Thoranius". Gaius Thorius Balbus, a resident of Lanuvium in Latium, was said by Cicero to have enjoyed every manner of pleasure. Marcus Thorius M. l. Nestor...
Global Information